Doomwatch

This feature film version of the British TV series of the same name uses some of the actors from the show, while adding Ian Bannen and the lovely young Judy Geeson for name value. Bannen stars as Del Shaw, a doctor with the title department of the government. They investigate effects of pollution on the environment. Del is sent to Balfe, an island community where the locals go out of their way to NOT make him welcome. What's more, chemical dumping in an off limits area has affected the fish in the waters and subsequently the islanders that have eaten them. In addition to being surly and violent, they fall victim to acromegaly as well.

Overall, this is a reasonably absorbing story, but pay no attention to false advertising. This is NOT a horror film, but more of a drama that tries to play things in a somewhat realistic manner. Thrills and suspense are minimal. The makeup effects are decent, but you don't see much of them until the end. The story is pretty simple, and straightforward, with clear cut villains and heroes. Actually, it tends to work better when Bannen's not around. The supporting characters are fine, but Del is a rather ridiculous guy, and Bannens' performance is not one of his better ones. He tends to shout his lines, and overreact.

Geeson has some appeal as a schoolteacher who is something of an outsider herself, and wants to maintain her relations with these superstitious and religious islanders. John Paul (Dr. Quist), Simon Oates (Dr. Ridge), and Joby Blanshard (Bradley) all come from the series, and they do alright. George Sanders is the special guest star, with Percy Herbert ("One Million Years B.C."), Shelagh Fraser ("Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope"), Geoffrey Keen (who appeared in four of the James Bond adventures), Norman Bird ("Cash on Demand"), and James Cosmo ("Trainspotting") all providing solid support.

"Doomwatch" scores some marks for good intentions, and for ending in a believable enough manner.

Six out of 10.

In this big screen adaptation of the popular BBC TV series of the same name created by Gerry Davis and Kit Pedlar (the brains behind Dr Who's iconic Cybermen), Ian Bannen stars as an investigator working for the British ecological watchdog group nicknamed Doomwatch. He discovers that locals living on a remote Cornish island are becoming violent and hostile towards outsiders, as well as showing signs of physical deformity, after eating fish contaminated by drums of growth stimulants that have been dumped offshore by a shadowy government agency. Despite being released by Tigon Films (the people who brought us Witchfinder General and The Blood Beast Terror), and directed by Peter Sasdy fresh from completing work on Hammers 'Hands of the Ripper,' Doomwatch isn't really a horror movie at all, and genre fans may be put off by the talkative script and lack of action set pieces in this eco thriller which still seems strangely relevant in these modern times. It was released in the States as Island of the Ghouls.

Whenever I want to watch a late-night BBC movie, I always check the IMDb site first to find out if it is worth to stay up for. At first I had my doubts about this one, but I'm certainly glad to have seen it.

Without being patronizing, idealistic or action filled, this movie is the most realistic movies about the environment. Some might say it lacks gore and monsters, but that is not the point of this film. It has interesting twists and turns and the characters all are reacting very unexpected. Again, this may confuse the average Sylvester Stallone fan, but for me it was very pleasant to see a movie with intelligent plot.

The movie could be seen as some thriller/horror crossover, but the strange thing about this one is that the story isn't about zombies and that it has a unsatisfying ending, which is good. No pointing fingers, no big stormy weather scenes and no action hero stuff.

If you hated "The day after tomorrow", you'll like this one. Cause this one might prove that environmentalists aren't always right...

I give this one a 8/10

Scientist, Dr. Del Shaw is sent to a remote Cornish island to investigate the effects of a tanker spill on the local wildlife. On arrival on the island, he is immediately struck by the strangeness of its inhabitants, they are dismissive and suspicious of him, they seem wary of outsiders and he struggles to find a room for the one night of his stay. As he goes about his business collecting marine samples, he is aware that he is being followed, he begins to feel he may be in danger, some odd nocturnal goings on make him even ,ore suspicious that there is something amiss on the island and when he finds the shallow grave of a child he knows for sure there is. The set up is excellent, both in mood and atmosphere, one is left with the distinct impression that a Wicker Man type plot is imminent, but sadly the film never lives up to those lofty heights and instead turns out to be more of an ecological drama, interesting but never as compelling as it could have been.

Doomwatch is directed by Peter Sasdy and adapted to screenplay by Clive Exton from the TV series written by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis. Ian Bannen, Judy Geeson, John Paul, Simon Oates, Jean Trend, Joby Blanshard, George Sanders, Percy Herbert, Shelagh Fraser and Geoffrey Keen. Music is by John Scott and cinematography by Kenneth Talbot.

An environmental research agency known as "Doomwatch" sends Dr. Dell Shaw (Bannen) to the Cornish Island of Balfe to research the effects of an oil spill. Once there Dell finds the villagers on the island are hostile and secretive and it soon becomes apparent that something is very amiss on the island.

Inbreeding and Immorality?

Doomwatch has its problems, with some average acting and logic holes the size of the Moon, but its highlights far outweigh the flaws. Mixing environmental concerns with sci-fi horrors, even though Doomwatch is not a horror film as such, it's a film that boasts a credible script and high interest value with its mystery.

Essentially the narrative is split into two parts. The first part of the film is suitably eerie. Once Dr. Shaw arrives on the island there's a sense of doom enveloping the place. The inhabitants act oddly suspicious and the makers introduce distorted angles to emphasise the fact that something is badly wrong here. John Scott's music is perfectly off- kilter and foreboding and with the pace of the story purposely sedate, this allows Sasdy to fill the sense of place with paranoia and creeping unease.

The picture then shifts at the mid-point when the mystery of the island is brought to the surface. We then find ourselves in the middle of a science fiction story wrapped around a heart breaking revelation brought about by corporate idiocy and ecological negligence. Into the mix comes ignorance, be it from the islanders, the church or the mainland authorities. It builds up a head of steam in the last quarter, where passions run high and the final act leaves an impression that's hard to shake off.

Add some lovely location photography around real Cornish locations, and some skillful underwater shots as well, and this definitely has much to recommend. Yes it's dated in that 1970s British independently budgeted way, this is a Tigon production after all! But give it a chance by not expecting a Mutant Wicker Man type horror movie and you may just enjoy it more than you expected. 7.5/10